Thursday, August 1, 2013

Lala Lajpat Rai (1865-1928)

The great freedom fighter and the
ex-President of the Indian National Congress, Lala Lajpat Rai expressed similar
views on Islam in a letter to Mr. C.R. Das :

Muslim leaders cannot override
Quran and Hadis : “There is one point more which has been troubling me very
much of late and one which I want you to think carefully and that is the
question of Hindu-Mohamedan unity. I have devoted most of my time during the
last six months to the study of Muslim history and Muslim Law and I am inclined
to thing, it is neither possible nor practicable.

Assuming and admitting the sincerity
of the Mohamedan leaders in the Non-co-operation movement, I think their
religion provides an effective bar to anything of the kind. You remember the
conversation, I reported to you in Calcutta, which I had with Hakim Ajmalkhan
and Dr. Kitchlew. There is no finer Mohamedan in Hindustan than Hakimsaheb but
can any other Muslim leader override the Qu’ran? I can only hope that my
reading of Islamic Law is incorrect, and nothing would relieve me more than to
be convinced that it is so. But if it is right then it comes to this that
although we can unite against the British we cannot do so to rule Hindustan on
British lines, we cannot do so to rule Hindustan on democratic lines.

What is then the remedy? I am not
afraid of seven crores in Hindustan but I think the seven crores (1crore is 10
millions-compiler) of Hindustan plus the armed hosts of Afghanistan, Central
Asia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Turkey will be irresistible.

I do honestly and sincerely believe in
the necessity or desirability of Hindu-Muslim unity. I am also fully prepared
to trust the Muslim leaders, but what about the injunctions of the Quran and
Hadis? The leaders cannot override them. Are we then doomed? I hope not. I hope
learned mind and wise head will find some way out of this difficulty." (quoted
by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in ‘Pakistan or Patition of India, 1946, pp. 275-276)